CONWAY, Ark. – The University of Central Arkansas volleyball team will look to pad their lead in the Southland Conference East Division race this weekend as they play host to McNeese State on Thursday at 7 p.m. and Lamar on noon Saturday inside the Prince Center.
Each match will be a part of the Soul Food Café Mission and fans are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items such as rice, potatoes, pasta and canned goods to help the effort.
McNeese State comes into Thursday’s match riding a four-game losing streak. Overall, the Cowgirls are 6-14 overall this season and are 1-5 in conference play with their lone win coming over Southeastern Louisiana on Sept. 24.
The Cowgirls currently rank second in the conference in digs per game with 16.87. Whitney Ellisor (3.92 dig/s) and Katie Kennedy (3.11 dig/s) have dug up the most attack attempts for McNeese State this season.
Offensively, McNeese State is sixth in the league with a .178 hitting percentage. Maegan Carlton earns three kills a set and is hitting .215 this season while Nicole Bowden has posted a 2.99 k/s average and hits .291.
"McNeese is a very well coached team and I'm expecting a close match,” said head coach David McFatrich. “I know they have struggled a little lately but they can be very good."
Saturday’s opponent, Lamar (6-15, 4-2), is just half a game back of UCA in the East Division entering play this weekend. The Cardinals are victors of their last two, defeating McNeese State and Texas A&M Corpus Christi by the same 3-1 score last week.
Lamar is currently fourth in the Southland in hitting percentage but is dead last in opponent hitting percentage, allowing their opposition to strike .250 this season.
Sierra Whittaker, who is currently fifth in the Southland in kills per game at 3.07, will lead the Cardinal attack Saturday. She will be joined by sophomore outside hitter Megan McStravick who enters the weekend earning 2.47 kills per game.
"I certainly don't want to look past McNeese St., but if we are fortunate enough to win and Lamar gets past Northwestern St, who we know is good, then our match against Lamar on Saturday could easily be for the Division lead,” said McFatrich. “Lamar is always a tough, skilled opponent and we'll have to be real solid. We're anxious to play!"
UCA will enter the weekend coming off a 3-1 victory over UT Arlington last Saturday. In the match, Marissa Collins had a career-high 60 assists and Jessica Nagy posted 17 kills while hitting .350. Freshman, Scout Brooks, seeing action in just her third match all year, provided a lift with 15 kills. Kyle Hartman and Taylor Hammonds had 13 and 12 kills respectively while Beth Rogers, wearing the libero jersey for the first time this year, posted a match-high 21 digs.
Saturday’s match will also be recognized as Family Day. Right after the match, Sugar Bear players, along with their families will be having a ‘Family Tailgate’ before UCA kicks off with McNeese State at Estes Stadium at 3 p.m.
